British and Irish Quidditch League
The British and Irish Quidditch League was established in 1674. Due to the need to maintain anti-Muggle security, the professional League was formed of the thirteen best teams at the time, and all others were asked to disband. Amateur teams are still permitted, once they meet departmental requirements. Each year, the teams compete for the League Cup. The teams have also competed for the Josef Wronski Award for Excellent Pitch Skills and individual players for the Dangerous Dai Llewellyn Commemorative Medal. Teams from the league also participate in the European Cup. The league falls under the authority of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. History 1674 The thirteen best teams in Britain and Ireland contested the first ever League Cup. 1814 The Banchory Bangers were forced to disband. 1862 In the final, one of the sides jinxed off all of the oppostion team's robes (in violation of the official rules of the sport, set down in 1750 by the Department of Magical Games and Sports). Nonetheless, one of the Chasers of the opposing team managed to score the winning goal "wearing nothing but a smile". 1892 The Chudley Cannons won the League for the last time. 1894 The Appleby Arrows supporters old practise of shooting arrows into the air from their wands every time their Chasers scored was banned by the Department of Magical Games and Sports in 1894, when one of these weapons pierced the referee, Nugent Potts, through the nose. Early 1900s The Tutshill Tornados won the League Cup five times in a row, which is a British and Irish Quidditch League record. 1921 The Tornados recorded the fastest ever win in a League match against the Caerphilly Catapults. Seeker Roderick Plumpton caught the Golden Snitch after three and a half seconds, using a move that became known as the Plumpton Pass. 1992 In August the Cannons were ninth in the League. 1995 The Tornadoes led the league in the autumn of 1995. According to The Quibbler, the Tornados had used a combination of torture, blackmail, and illegal broom tampering to win their matches. 1998 The Appleby Arrows defeated the Chudley Cannons in the summer, aided by a pathetic performance by Cannon's Seeker Galvin Gudgeon. During the game, the Snitch twice bounced off his nose. Cannons manager Ragmar Dorkins felt he had to tell the team's fans that "turning him into a toad will not help his game." Montrose Magpies Chaser Alasdair Maddock was becoming inordinately fond of Muggle sport, but claimed he "only tried football for a laugh". Puddlemere United change their robe colour to blue. On July 31st the Tornados were top of the League and the Cannons were 13th. The Daily Prophet claimed that nobody dares to disagree with Harpies' "brilliant but dangerous" Captain Gwenog Jones. 1999 Early in the year the Ballycastle Bats defeated the Tornados. Brevis Birch blamed his team's unexpected loss in the match against the Bats on a bout of narcolepsy suffered by Tornados Keeper Merwyn Finwick. Maddock is blamed for the Magpies loss to the Kenmare Kestrels, due to his attempts at using techniques from Muggle football. Pride of Portree played the Falmouth Falcons at Exmoor. Nobody could see the Quidditch pitch or the opposing team, because of the Ministry of Magic's invisibility spell on the stadium. Puddlemere's Chaser Wilda Griffiths, poached from the Holyhead Harpies for 1000 Galleons, helped her new team to a win against Wigtown Wanderers. The Chudley Cannons had a surprise draw with the Caerphilly Catapults, breaking a 16-game losing streak. On February 8th the Bats were top of the league with 760 points, while the Cannons were bottom with 230 points. Maddock was sacked by Magpies manager Cormack McLeod before their game against Caerphilly Catapults, having been caught trying to play golf. Pride of Portree were defeated by the Appleby Arrows. The two Seekers collided in their race for the Golden Snitch, and both had illegal jinxes used on them. Arrows Seeker Gregory Cotton came out of a scuffle with Portree Seeker Dougal McBride with the Snitch in his hand, only to have his head transfigured into a cabbage by McBride. McBride defended his actions to the referee, Josiah Plunkett, by claiming that Cotton had hit him with a Jelly-Fingers Curse during the race for the Snitch, and thus deserved to be "cabbaged." Valmai Morgan, the replacement Chaser for Wilda Griffiths who joined Puddlemere United, scored ten goals in one game, helping the Harpies to victory. The Cannons narrowly defeated Wigtown Wanderers in Bodmin Moor. On June 1st the Ballycastle Bats were top of the table with 800 points. The Falmouth Falcons were bottom with 350. The Harpies played Puddlemere United at Ilkley Moor. Wands were confiscated at the gates, as crowd trouble was anticipated. Many fans handed over dummy wands, however. Puddlemere's Chaser Wilda Griffiths disappeared midway through the match. A riot broke out and fans of both sides used their wands. Gwenog Jones was held in custody after the game. A 23 year-old Puddlemere United fan called Timothy Blenkinsop was caught in the riot and acquired a rat's tail. The Cannons defeated the Falcons in Exmoor, keeping the Falcons in bottom place. The shock of the victory caused the Cannons' manager Ragmar Dorkins to collapse. League Standings On October 1st 1999 On October 1st 1999 the Ballycastle Bats were top of the league with 820 points. Bottom with 360 points were the Falmouth Falcons. The following three upcoming fixtures were listed in that day's Daily Prophet, the results of which are unknown; *Tutshill Tornados v Wigtown Wanderers, Bodmin Moor *Ballycastle Bats v Caerphilly Catapults - due to Muggles camping on Ellis Moor, venue to be decided. *Kenmare Kestrels v Wigtown Wanderers Late 1990s Bodmin Moor Millenium Stadium was the site of a league final between Montrose Magpies and Puddlemere United sometime in the late 1990s. Winners *Montrose Magpies (at least 32 times) *Ballycastle Bats (at least 27 times) *Puddlemere United (at least 22 times) * Chudley Cannons (at least 21 times) *Caerphilly Catapults (at least 18 times) *Wimbourne Wasps (at least 18 times) *Tutshill Tornados (at least 5 times) *Pride of Portree (at least 2 times) Records *Oldest club : Puddlemere United (founded 1163) *Most League Cups won : Montrose Magpies *Most League Cups won in a row : five (Tutshill Tornados) *Fastest capture of the Snitch : Roderick Plumpton, Tutshill Tornados (1921) *Most goals scored in the 20th century by an individual player : Joscelind Wadcock, Puddlemere United (1931)